What You Need to Know

Experienced or first timer, its important to know the general rules and guidelines put in place to help ensure a great experience for everyone involved. We appreciate you taking to read through these guidelines. if you have any questions or ideas, please share!

– The mission of UpDog is to increase the number of dog owners participating in disc and dog sports.

– Our vision is to develop an organization that combines the elements of dog sports and human disc sports with earned accomplishments. UpDog will award teams for their participation over time regardless of their finishing position in the games.

– Everyone should have an opportunity to be acknowledged for their continuing participation, singular achievements, and comprehensive accomplishments. Dogs and players are to be treated with respect.

UpDog is a disc and dog sport organization.

At UpDog, canine safety is of utmost importance. Competitors are encouraged to keep their canine partner’s safety at the forefront of training and competition throughout the dog’s life.

UpDog is not tolerant of any abuse towards animals or humans at our events. Individuals may be asked to not participate if the head judge or host club determines the behavior to be unacceptable.

An UpDog event should have an atmosphere that is fun, safe, and enjoyable. It should be crowd/family friendly and the host club, judges and competitors should be welcoming to all.

Everyone deserves an equal opportunity at success at an UpDog event.

General rules applicable to all UpDog competitions:

Players must read and sign the Liability Waiver and Publicity Release prior to competing.

Competing teams should be given every opportunity to succeed within the realms of the UpDog and host club rules.

When no UpDog, city, state, province or federal rules pertain, the host club rules shall prevail.

Players are responsible for their own safety and that of their dog at all times.

Except when competing or practicing, dogs should be kept on leash at all times and should not be a distraction to the dogs that are competing.

Practice is allowed during a competition provided it is not a distraction to the team competing. The competitor and/or the judge may determine if a team practicing is a distraction. It is recommended that any practice is done outside of the competition field line of sight.

Canine Age limits:

Freestyle: dogs must be at least 16 months old to participate (for rescue dogs please use your vet’s assessment of your dog’s age).

Frizgility, 7up, FunKey and any games using agility equipment: dogs must be at least 12 months old.

All Other Games: No age restrictions; however, competitors are expected to keep their dog’s health and safety at the forefront of their game play.

Note: Host clubs may allow dogs under the age limits listed above to play for exhibition only (FEO). Those scores should not be sent to UpDog with the final results. Allowance of FEO entries and determination of FEO entry fees are at the discretion of the Host Club.

Bitches in heat are allowed to play provided they wear panties. Host clubs may override this rule if there is a valid reason (host clubs should contact UpDog to discuss) but will need to publish that rule change at the time the event is listed on the UpDog website.

Judges and Host Clubs:

Judges and host clubs are expected to treat all competitors equally and with respect. They are to present themselves and UpDog in a positive light.

In UpDog, the judge is the player’s ally and is encouraged to help the team during the competition especially in Level 1 games.

Judge expectations:

Judges should be focused on their job

Judges are responsible for knowing all UpDog game rules

To the best of their abilities, judges are to ensure scoring is accurate and UpDog rules are being followed

The head judge should ensure that all field judges are aware of the game rules and know how to assist in judging the games.

The head judge has the final say on all scores, rules and disqualifications.

The Host Club has the right to ask any person whether entered or not to leave the premises for any reason. Possible reasons for disqualification from an UpDog event include but are not limited to:

Unethical behavior or conduct such as bribery, cheating or intentionally negatively impacting a fellow competitor’s game.

It is at the Host Club’s sole discretion to bar competitors from participating in or attending their events. This action should be limited to competitors that have behaved in a manner contrary to UpDog guidelines.

It is at UpDog’s sole discretion to determine if a Host Club will be sanctioned to host UpDog events. Host Clubs that have conducted themselves in a manner contrary to UpDog guidelines may be barred from hosting future events.

Entry Fees, Divisions and Levels:

Entry fees and refunds are determined by the host club. Host clubs may opt to offer as many divisions as they choose. Example would be divisions by height (mini, midi and maxi), competitor age, experience level, etc. It is at the host club’s discretion whether prizes are offered for placements. We encourage host clubs to reward participants in a way that best works for their event.

Requiring a minimum number of teams entered in a level/game to be eligible for placements is allowed.

It is at the host club’s discretion whether prizes are offered for placements however if they will not be offered the club should publish that information in advance so competitors are aware. When offering 2 rounds of the same game clubs should publicize how awards will be handled if awarding cumulatively vs. individual rounds.

Discs:

At UpDog the discs below are allowed to be used at competitions:

All Hero Dog Disc models

All Hyperflite Disc models

All Wham-O Fastback models

Latitude64 line of dog discs

Pup-sized discs are allowed for any sized dog.

Soft or floppy discs that are round in shape, solid in construction (no holes, etc.) and safe for the dog. (Example: A Floppy Flyer would be allowed; however, a Hurl A Squirrel or ChuckIt Flying Squirrel would not be allowed.) Please contact UpDog or the event head judge prior to competing if you are unsure if your disc is allowed.

Additional Rules:

Treats/cookies are not allowed on the field and may not be used as a lure or reward on the competition field.

Use of a non-audible tug toy (ex: no squeakers) is allowed in level 1 to encourage a dog to return the disc. Tugging on the disc itself is allowed at any level.

Prong, choke, electronic and other such training collars are not allowed on the competition field during the event. (Martingale collars, slip leads and head halters are allowed.)

For all games other than Frizgility and FunKey there are no additional restrictions on what collars, harnesses, vests, bandannas, etc. can be worn as long as the dog’s movement is not restricted and no safety hazard is posed.

Games with Obstacles like Frizgility: Only flat buckle collars with no tags may be worn. This is to prevent injury. Dogs may run “naked” (no collar). If you are in doubt about your dog’s attire please see the head judge for a ruling prior to the competition start time.

Nature breaks:

Competitors are expected to walk their dogs prior to taking the field to ensure that the likelihood of an on field nature break is diminished. If a dog eliminates on the field, time will not stop and no penalty points will be assessed. The player should clean up after their dog as soon as the round is complete. Host clubs should provide water/solution to spray on the soiled area immediately after clean up. If a dog soils the field numerous times within a competition the host club has the right to ask the handler to refrain from playing the dog the rest of the day.

Rollers:

Rollers are allowed in all level 1 and 2 games. A roller is “live” and can be caught by the dog while the disc displays forward momentum in any direction. The disc is considered “dead” if movement in a direction has ceased and the disc begins to teeter on its edge (like a spinning coin). Judges will make the determination as to when a roller is “live” or “dead”. A roller too close to be called will be ruled in favor of the dog. Judges decisions are final.